Binding machine



8, 1,48%662` A. E. CRANSTN BINDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 1o, 1920 '7sheets-sheet 1 WIT/VESSES A TTUHNEYS Y April 8 1924. 1,489,662

A. E. cRANs-roN BINDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 1o. 1920 7 sheets-sheet 2 W|||x uh..

IIIH

`INVENTOR ZET Cranston,

A TTOHNEYS WITNESSES April s 1924. 1,489,662

A. E. CRANSTON BINDING MACHINE Filed Feb, 1o,v 1920 ''sheets-sheet sw/mfssfs l VEA/Tof? 567ml s 072,

A TTUH/VEYS April 8 1924. I 1,489,662

` A. E. cRANsTON BINDING MACHINE Fild Feb. 1o '1920 '7 sheets-sheet 4WITNESSES INI/E/VTUR TTORNEYS pril 8 1924, 1,489,662

A. E. CRANSTON BINDING MACHINE '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. lo; 1920 A.E. CRANSTON BINDING MACHINE April s, 1924z 1,489,662

Filed Feb. 1o. 1920 7 sheetssheef e A TTUH/VEYS April s, 1924. 1,489,662

A. E. CRANSTON BINDING MACHINE Filed Feb.' 1o, 1920 'r shee'ts-sneet v/NVENTR Afro/mns Patented' Apr. 8, 1924.

UNITED STATESl PATENT OFFICE.

aLBEnrEAnL onANsroN, or sPoxaNE, wasnzrrro'rcirr.

BINDING MACHINE.

v Application led February 10, 1920. Serial No. 357,601.

generally and particularly to' a machine for securing the partscomprised in a-box, barrel `or the like into shocks or bundles, and isacontinuation of my application Serial No.

272,264, filed January 21, 1919. l A u Ose of my invention is therovision of a machine which isrcapable of quickly and effectivelybinding bundles of material irrespective of their dimensions and withoutthe necessity of the adjustmentof any partof the machine. r

It is also a. purpose of my invention to provide 'a binding machinewhich includes a knotter mechanism for tyi the end fof a loop of wireforming the su ject-matter of a separate applicatlon, a Wire wrappingneedle and an apparatus for feeding the bundles to the knetter theoperation of these elements being entirely automaticl and controlledmanually by the depression of a lever or automatically by the placing ofmaterial on the table of the machine, this arbitrary control beingrendered inactive to-cause the entire machine to come to rest after thetying of a bundle.

I will describe one form of binding' machine embodying my invention andwill'then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 3 is a: View similar-to-Figure 2but' showing the position ofthe various parts of the machine as themateria-his bel advanced towards the bindingwire; in otted Figure 1 is aside elevation of the ma' lines is shown the osition the material andwire will assume w en the material has been advanced to its limit;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing the position thevarious 'parts will asume while the knotting action is taking P ace;

Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a section.y on line 6-6 of Fig- Figure 7 is a sectiorffonline 7-7 of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a longitudinal sectional view, showin mechanlsm and thecarriage; Aand the method of automatically continuing the operation ofthe machine during the complete bundling. and knotting of a-singlestackof material;

Figure 9 is ure 8;

Figure 10 is a section on line 10---10 of Figure 8;

Figure 11 is a section on line 11-11 of Figure 8; f a

Figure 12 is asection on line 12`12 of Figure 8;

Figure 13 is a sectional view, showing the push fingers during theretraction of the carriage;`and

Figure 14. is an enlarged detail view of the friction clutch for holdingthe tying wire taut.

In the drawings, wherein is illustrated the preferred form of theinvention as now in 'actual use, two Wire reels as 1 and 2 areillustrated so that with the machine, a bundleas articles, may have twoloops of wire wrapped and fastened around the bundle, or a `singlebundle vmay be wrap d with a single loop, or two bundles may e wra edwith. a single loop simultaneously as wfbe hereinafter more readilyunderstood. The

wire reels are supported in brackets 3 on the axle 4,' and `the bracketsare fixed above the table top 5, supported above the floor by the cornerlegs 6, etc. and the shingles that are to be made linto a bundle areplaced on the top of the table' and moved or pushed. from right asection on line 9- -9 of Figi' the connection between the rack xoo toleft in Figure 1, and in the reverse direction, from left to right, inFigure 2.

The shingles are moved to position to be wrapped by pressure from apairof ushfingers 7 and 8 that travel longitudinal y of the table topthrough the slots 9 therein and are pivoted at 7 and 8" on the sideplates 10, 10 of a carriage'that reciprocates beneath the table top. andincludes slide` bearings 11 to move over the four guide bars12, arrangedin pairs at each side of the-longltudinal center of the table beneaththe top, and a transverse brace or rod 12 joins the side plates. Thefour guide bars are suprted in brackets 13 and 13 depending rom theunder side of the table, and the carriage is reciprocated through theaction of a pitman 14, or a pair of pitmenv14, ,that are pivotallyconnected at 15 to the cross bar 16 extending between the two sideplates of the carriage. When the push fingers arein operative positionthey stand upright above the table top and pass from right to left inFigure 1, through the slots 9, but upon the return stroke of thecarriage or cross-head that carries the push fingers, the'latter areturned down beneath the table top in order that additionall shingles maybe placed in position on the table during the retum stroke of thecross-head, thus Savin the time that would otherwise be .wasted if theoperator were required to Wait until the upright push finger returnedIto operative or initial position.

In Figures 4, 8, 11 and 13 the means for turning the fingers to uprightposition is illustrated as studs 17 projectlng transversely into the twoslots 9, 9 through which the fingers pass as they are reciprocated, andeach finger having a cam edge a which rides over the corresponding stud17 and is thereby swung on its pivot 7 or 8 as in dotted lines Figure 13to upright position. VAfter being elevated, the finger is held inupright position by a latch bar 19 that is slidable in slots 20 in theside plates of the carria e, and adapted to slide under the end 21 of te finger and hold it locked in upright position.2

reached the latch bar encounters another4 stop or abutment 24 Figure 8)and isV moved out from under the ngers so that they may fall by gravityto retracted osition and thus be returned to the front o the machine tobe againv elevated.

is held tightly As the unpacked shingles X are fed forward by the p ushfingers they are shoved against the two wires 25 and 26 that are unwoundfrom the reels 1 and 2, respectively,` and the wires are fed to properposition forare alike, a description of one and its oonnections willsuffice for both. The angular arm is swung on its pivot by mechanism tobe described, and as its free end swings through the slot 29 it carrieswith it a length of wire suflicient to form a loop about the bundle andthen this loop is knotted byv twisting the ends together as describedand claimed in a separate application for patent. The lwire is pulledfrom the reel on the down stroke of the feed arm, and this down strokeis accomplished by means of a' short cam member 32, and the upstroke ofthe arm is accomplished by a longer cam member 33, on the main shaft 34which is journaled beneathihe table in a frame portion int al with thesupporting legs of the table. an; 32 is secured to cam 33 by bolts b. InFigures 2, 3 and l4 theoperation of the cams is clearly shown, and theirconnections with the rock shaft or pivot 28 for the two feed arms willbe readily understood, as it is evi,- dent that with the cam memberandshaft turning in-the direction of the arrow, when the front end 33' ofthe cam 33 contacts with the pawl 35 pivoted to the frame at 36 andconnected by link 37 'to the crank arm 38, the shaft 28 will be rockedand the free` end of the feed arm will be swung upwardly from the slot29 in the table, the rollers 30 and v31 passingover the wire, which at'this time remalns stationary, since its extremity the feed arm is heldout of the wa bundle B as the twisting of the en wire is being comleted, and also of the incoming package that is to be wrapped.

The feed arm is positively swung downward b the cam member 32 inengagement with a ever arm 39, rigid on the rock shaft of the within theknetter K, and

of the 28, and as the cam members revolve continuous'ly during onecomplete bundling and` knotting'action, they alternately lower andelevate the feed arm to pull the wire down 'through the table top on thedown stroke to be looped about the bundles of shingles.

To assist in reventing the wire from-unreehngtoo reel and to hold thewire under sultable tensionv while the bundle is being ushed against the-vertical wire to form t e loop, a wire tensioning device is provided toengagev the wire as it unreels, with suiiicient -pressure as to permitits passage, but at the same time hold it taut. The tension devicecomprises a pair of disks and 41, best shown in Figure 14, as loose uponthe shaft 42 which is supported or fixed in the brackets 43, 44 that areadjustable toward or away from eachother by the two set screws 45 andthe bolt 46. Bracket.

43 is secured to a cross bar c (Figure 5). Between the disk 41 and thebracket 44 is interposed a coiled spring 47 surrounding the shaft 42,and the disk 40 has a central boss or extension 48 thatf'projects intothe recess or seat 49 of the disk 41- so that these two disks may bekept alined but may move laterally with relation to one another. Thedisks are designed to grasp or frictionally engage the wire as it passesbetween them, and for this purpose aforked lever 50 projects between theflat face of disk 40 and the bracket 43 and over the shaft 42, the otherend of the lever being pivoted at 51 to a lever arm 52a on the rockshaft 28. Now, when the feed arm is swung downwardly, the lever arm 51will shove or push' the forkedlever 50 forward, and as the bifurcatedend of this forked lever is wedgeshaped, as at 50 it is a parent thatthe disks will be pushed lateral y against the spring 47 and will bepushed together to clasp the wire as it passes therethrough and engagethe wire with sufiieient friction to retard its movement and make thewire taut so that the bundle may be pushed through it to form a loop.

By means of a knotting device the wire is cut and the two ends are thentwisted together to secure the loop about the bundle, and there are twoof these devices, one a stationary device indicated at 52 and the otheran ad'ustable device indicated at 53, The adjusta le device is movablein. a slot 54 in the table top and may be moved-toward or away from thestationary device by means of the hand wheel 55, so that the wires maybe spaced, within limits, as desired on the bundle, and the knottingdevices include operating, vertically arranged shafts. 56 and 56.

The feeding device for the shingles, the wire feed mechanism 'and theknotting device are all actuated from the same source of powertransmitted through the power wheel 57 and power shaft 58, the lattersupported or journaled in movable bearings 59, and movable through thefoot lever 60 pivoted at 61 (Figure 6) in the frame of the machine.v

The power shaft has thereon a small friction pulley 62 which engages alarger fricward pressure on the free end of the lever or pedal 60 willAlift the wheel 62 into engagement with the wheel 63 tp revolve thecounter shaft 64, from which latter shaft,

connections are distributed to the devices for performing the differentsteps in the wrapping 'of the bundle.

Friction wheel 62 is normally held out of frictiQnal engagement withwheel 63 by means of the spring d which extends from the free end of,lever- 60 to the under side of table top 5, consequently maintainingthe free' end of lever 60 in a relatively raised position and the end oflever 60 which is on the opposite side of fulc'rum point 61 in arelatively depressed position. In order to cause the machine to continuein operation during the bundling action without the operator continuingpedal pressure on lever 60 and to -cause the machine to automaticallystop when the bundling and knotting actions are complete, I haveprovided the following Pivoted to lever 60 at e is the upright rod fwhich is loosely supported in an upright position by strap g. AOn theupper extremity of rod f is provided the roller h which lies in the pathof the depressing member i (Figures 8, 11 and'12). Member z' is securedto carriage slide member 10 at and is supported beneath the top' 5 bymeans of strap lc. The free extremity of member i vis provided with thecam face m for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

Counter shaft 64 carries a small toothed pinion 66 which meshes with thelarge gear 'i to the carriage by the following means,-

(see Figures 8, 9, 10). Aurack shaft 74 is supported beneath the tabletop 5 by means of hangers n and carries the sprocket 73 which isconnected to sprocket 71 on` shaft 64 by means of chain 72 (Figure 6).Rack wheels 75 are positioned near'the opposite extremities of rackshaft 74. Rack members, generally indicatedy at p are attached topit-men 14 atq and are vconstructed as follows; (description is of one,only, since they are exactly alike) p is recessed as at 1' and providedwith, the internal rack teeth 76 extending continuously around theperimeter of the recess. A countersunk recess s follows the same contouras recess r and provides a runway for the ends t ofthe shaft `74 whichends project into said-recess a. It will be seen that since shaft 74 andwheels 75 are fixed with respect to the top 5 and since the travel of pis forced and fixed through the engagement of t and s, that therevolving of wheels 75 will cause member p to travel around said wheelsbythe alternate engagement of the opposed teeth et' the rack 'and 53 areoperated through their vertical shafts 56 and 56 'which have at theirlower extremities the bevel gears 77 and 77', these being engaged bybevel gears 78 and 7 8 on the knotter shaft 79. To maintain a drivingconnection between the gear 78 and the shaft 79 during an adjustment ofthe knotter 53 the gear 78 is keyed to the shaft so as to slide thereonand at the same time rotate with the same. journaled in the members 79depending from the machine frame. The knetter shaft 79 carries sprocket80 andis operated by a chain 81 which is trainedover sprocket 80' andalso over-,sprocket 82, the latter being fixed on shaft 70.4 Shaft 70 issupported by han ers u and carries a pinion 69 which will beintermittently engaged by the segment shown the 68 which is securedtothe spokes of gear 67.

)Vhile the operation of the machine may be initiated through thefriction drive by pressure from the foot on the lever 60, it may be, inaddition, initiated mechanically through the instrumentality of anactuating lever 83 pivoted at 84 to the table top and connected by alink 85 to the lever 60, whereby when material to be bundled is placedon the lever 83, the lever 60'will be depressed and frictionalengagement between wheels 62 and 63 be initiated.

I will now describe the operation of the mach-ine. Referring first toFigure 1, I have osition of the various parts just after bundlia B hasbeen bound and it will be noted that lever 60 and 83 are raised, 4themachine being at rest. Upon material X being placed on the table to asin Figure 2, the lever 83 is depressed tiereby as shown, thereby causingfrictional en agement between wheels 62 and 63. The riction drive willimmediately cause wheels to be revolved through sprocket wheels 71, 73and the chain 72 thereby causing rack member 7) and consequentlycarriages 10 and 10 and fingers 7 and 8 to move forward as shown inFigure 3. Since member z' Will be carried forward by the carriage, thecam surface m will ride over roller h and the under surface of z' willthen continue to contact with said roller and hold the rod f and hencelever 60 depressed during one forward and backward reciprocation of thecarriage, during which reciprocation one bundle is completely bound. Atthe completion of one reciprocation spring d will raise lever 60 andstop Knetter shaft 79 is the machine, member z' then being back in theposition of Figure 8.

Practically simultaneously with the forward movement of the carriage,cam 33 will contact with lever 35 and raise needles 27 and 27', leavinga stretch w of wire exposed in the path of bundle X (Figure 3). Asfingers 7 and 8 push bundle X to their limit of travel (dotted line,Figure 3) the wire will be withdrawn from the reels and will positionitself around three sides of the bundle. As lingers 7 and 8 drop and areretracted by the reciprocating motion of the carriage, cam 32 willcontact 'with rod 39 and cause the needles 27 and 27 to lower, and willhold them lowered to the end of the cycle. This lowering of the needlescomplete the wrap around the bundle (Figure 4).

When needle 27 is well down, segment 68 will engage pinion 69 and,through the mechanism described, actuate the knotters 52 and 53 andtwist the severed ends of the wire together.

From the foregoing description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, it will be manifest that I have provided abinding machine which when initially start'- ed by the depression of thelever 60 either manually or through the placing of the material on thetable, feeds the material to Vthe knotters, actuates the needles toeffect a wrapping ofthe material by the tying wires, and subsequentlyactuates the knotters to effect a tying of the material into a bundle.

By virtue of the arrangement of the feeding mechanism with respect tothe knotters, it is obvious that abundle of any dimensions lwithincertain limits) can be effectively tied Without the necessity ofadjusting any lart of the machine. It will be further note that becauseof the adjustabilitv of one of the knotters the tying of the bundle bysuch knotter can be effected at various points within the length of thebundleto thereby effectively secure material of various configurationsand dimensions.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of bindingmachine embodyingmy invention, it is to be understood 'that variouschanges and modifications may be made herein without departing from thespirit of the invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described. my invention, what I claim 'is:-

1. A binding machine comprising a table, a knotter supported in thetable. a reciprocating carriage arranged below the table, fingerscarriedbv said carriage, said fingers being movable through said tableand capable of occupying one extreme position wherein they project abovethe table and another extreme position in whichthey are disposed belowthe table, means for reciproeating said carriage, and means operable bythe movement of said carriage for causing said lingers to occu y oneextreme-,position or the other accor 'ng as the carriage is moved in onedirection or the other.

2. A binding machine comprising a table, a knotter supported in thetable, a reciprocating carriage arranged below the table, fingerscarried by said carriage, said fingers being movable through saidtable-and capable of occupying one extremel osition wherein' theyproject above the ta le and another extreme position inwhich they aredisposed below the table, means for reciproeating said carriage, andme'ans operable by the movement ofsaidcarriage'for causing said fingersvto project above the table when the carriage is moving in one directionand for causing .the same to be disposed below the surface of the -table`when the carriage is moved in lthe other direction.

3. The combination with a feeding table and reciprocating carriage, ofcam operated pivoted fingers on the carriage and an abutment -onthetable therefor, a slidable latch bar on the carriage to hold thefingers in operative position, and means for moving the latch bar tolatc'hed position.

4. The combination with a feeding-table and reciprocating carriage, ofcam operated pivoted fingers on the carriage, and an abutment on thetable therefor, a slidable latch bar on the carriage to hold thefingersin operative position, means for moving the latch bar to latchedposition in one extreme position of the carriage, and-means for movingthe latch bar to releasing position when the carriage is in the otherextreme position.

5. A binding machine comprising, a knotter, mechanism for feedingarticles to the knotter, a needle, a wire sup ly having the wire trainedover said need e, a lnormally inactive tensioning device interposedbetween said supply and needle and adapted to hold the wire undertension, and means operable by said needle for actuating said device togrip said wire.

6. A binding machine comprising, a knotter, mechanism for feedingarticles to the knotter, a needle movable to occu y an elevated positionand a lowered position with respect to said knotter, a wire supply forthe wire trained over said needle, a normally inactive tensioning deviceinterposed between said supply and needle and adapted to hold the wireunder tension, and means operable when said needle moves to its loweredposition for actuating said device to grlp the wire.

7. A binding machine comprising a knotter, a carriage for feeding abundle to theJ knotter, a needle for supportingv and ma'- nipulating thewire tocause the same to encompass tlie bundle, means for actuating for.predetermined periods said carriage, said capable of occupying oneextreme @which ,said shafts are disconnected, means for biasing thelever to the second extreme position, and means operable by saidcarriage for maintaining the lever in the other extreme position for apredetermined period after the lever has been initially moved thereto.

8. A binding machine comprising a knotter, a carriage for feeding abundle to the knotter, a needle for supporting and manipulating vthewire to cause the same to encompass the bundle, means for actuating forpredetermined periods said carriage, said needle and said knotter in theorder'mentioned, means for controlling said means comprising, a drivingshaft, a driven shaft, a' lever connected to the driving shaft andosition wherein said shafts are operative y connected and a secondextreme position in which said shafts are disconnected, means forbiasing the lever to the second extreme position, bundle operated meansfor moving said lever to the other'extreme position, and means operableby said carriage for maintaining said lever in the other extr'emeposition for a predetermined period.

9. A binding machine comprising a feeding carriage, a wire manipulatingneedle, a

knotter, and mechanism for actuating all of said elements forpredetermined periods and in the sequence mentioned comprising, a drivenshaft ,and a driving shaft movab e to engage or disengage the drivenshaft, and means operable by. movement of the feeding carriage formaintaining the driving shaft in engagement with the driven shaft for apredetermined period. l

10. A binding machine comprising a table,

a carriage slidable beneath the table,v means for reciprocating saidcarriage comprising,

continuous rack ,members connected to thev movable with the carriage,said fingers being movable through said table and capable of occupyingone extreme posltion wherein they project above the bed of the table toengage the material on the table and dehver position in which they aredisposed below 'the bed of the table so as to be in disengaging positionwith respect to the material on the table, means for reciprocating saidvthe same to the knotter and another extreme carriage, and meansoperable by the movement of said carriage for causing said {ingers toproject above the table when moved in the direction of the knot-ter andfor caus- 5 ing the same to be disposed below the table when moved awayfrom theknotterwhereby after a given bundle of material has been -thebedof the table in position to be engaged 1u by the next movement of thecarriage 1n the direction of the knotter. i

vALBERT EARL cRANsToN.

